The present invention relates to a method for forming a conductor such as an electron conductor or an ion conductor.
There is conventionally known ink-jet printing process in which a given ink pattern is printed on a print object such as a print paper or a substrate by means of an ink-jet head and, more specifically, by moving the print object in one direction while moving the ink-jet head in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the print object as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-35820. In this printing process, the relative moving direction of the print object and the ink-jet head, i.e., the actual direction of pattern printing on the print object is always constant regardless of the pattern orientation (horizontal orientation or vertical orientation). Further, the ink-jet head is generally configured to, while moving the print object on a stage, apply pressure pulses to a molten ink and thereby discharge minute ink drops from its nozzles onto the print object during the printing process as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-212249.
The above-mentioned ink-jet printing process can be adopted as various printing techniques, including not only plain-paper printing for printing an ordinary ink such as a color ink on a plain paper sheet but also conductor printing for printing a conductor (conductor pattern) on a circuit substrate. In particular, it is feasible by the ink-jet printing process to form an electrode (electrode pad) on a solid electrolyte substrate with the use of an ink containing a conductive material such as metal particles and to form a solid electrolyte thin film with the use of an ink containing a solid electrolyte material.